Numbers 17

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Numbers 17:1-13

“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod according to the house of their fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their fathers twelve rods: write thou every man’s name upon his rod. 3 And thou shalt write Aaron’s name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers. 4 And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet with you. 5 And it shall come to pass, that the man’s rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against you. 6 And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers’ houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. 7 And Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness. 8 And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds. 9 And Moses brought out all the rods from before the LORD unto all the children of Israel: and they looked, and took every man his rod. 10 And the LORD said unto Moses, Bring Aaron’s rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not. 11 And Moses did so: as the LORD commanded him, so did he. 12 And the children of Israel spake unto Moses, saying, Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish. 13 Whosoever cometh any thing near unto the tabernacle of the LORD shall die: shall we be consumed with dying?”

Introduction

[Audio version: https://resources.ccphilly.org/detail.asp?TopicID=&Teaching=WED586 ]

“Numbers chapter 17, we didn’t have enough time to get to it last week, in fact 17, 18, 19 following on the heels of the confrontation with Korah in chapter 16, where Korah the Kohathite, amongst the Levites the most privileged, carrying the Ark of the Covenant and the Table of Showbread and the Menorah and the Table of Incense. Korah stepping forward and challenging Moses and Aaron and saying ‘You take too much to yourself, you’re Levites, we’re also Levites, why should you have any privilege above us?’ And the confrontation that took place. Now, again, they led 250 notable princes amongst Israel against Moses and Aaron, they do no doubt, they had leadership abilities, just it had nothing to do with the LORD. And the challenge, you know, that the earth would open up and swallow them if they were wrong, and of course that took place. The fire coming from the LORD’s presence, destroying the 250 others that brought censers, and thought that they had some right to burn incense before the LORD, something only relegated to the priests. [And all believers are priests after the order of Melchizedek. Our prayers, incense, are basically the only prayers God hears. The symbolism fits perfectly.] And then a plague, then, going throughout the camp and no doubt striking those who had been part in the rebellion, and 14,700 losing their lives. And as we come to the end of the chapter, the LORD isn’t just leaving the entire camp of Israel in disarray, he now says to Aaron, and to the chief princes of each tribe, ‘I want each of you to bring your rod.’ And the rod was the symbol of their authority, read about it in Psalm 2, the sceptre that’s in the LORD’s hands. We read about that in the Book of Revelation, when he sets up his Kingdom. The LORD says ‘I want each tribe represented to bring forth a rod, and put the name of each man and each tribe on the rod, and the tribe of Levi will be Aaron’s rod, and I want you to put them in the Tabernacle, in the presence of the Ark, and whichever of those 12 rods buds, and shows a sign of life, resurrection, life from the dead, that’s the man that I chose to be the leader in spiritual things.’ God wouldn’t just leave the camp in disarray now, he’s going to reaffirm his commitment to the Aaronic Priesthood.

God Re-Affirms The Aaronic Priesthood By The Sign Of A Fruitful Rod

“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod” the symbol of their authority or rule, “according to the house of their fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their fathers twelve rods: write thou every man’s name upon his rod. And thou shalt write Aaron’s name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers. And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet with you. And it shall come to pass, that the man’s rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against you.” (verses 1-5) The LORD will confirm spiritual leadership by the sign of life here, resurrection, by wisdom justified of her children, the ministry of God’s choosing is to be a fruitful ministry. “And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers’ houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. And Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness. And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold,” consider this, think about it, is what the word “behold” means, “the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds.” (verses 6-8) So it not only budded, but it brought forth blossoms and was bearing fruit. Of course it’s a picture of life come forth from nothing, it’s a picture of resurrection and so forth, it’s a picture of the ministry, only the ministry that God ordains and anoints brings forth life and brings forth fruit. We don’t even know, by the way, if it was an almond branch to start with, but it is at this point I guess. It’s bringing forth, and the Hebrew word is “ripe almonds,” so the fruit is there. And the point is, any fruit, and look, there was no difference between Aaron and all these other men, there was no difference between their staffs, they were all made of wood, they were all dead, they were all dried. Aaron, remember, had made the Golden Calf, he had pulled a major blunder, Aaron had rebelled against Moses in chapter 12 and done the same thing these others had done, and yet the election of God is involved, he chose Aaron. Not by natural understanding, not by Aaron being more worthy, it was God’s choice. And any fruit in any life is of God, it’s something that he produces, that no human energy or wisdom or diploma, none of that can produce what is produced here miraculously. You could get a PhD in studying dead rods and you still wouldn’t be able to get ‘em to bud, blossom and bring forth almonds, so there is a divine work involved here, producing fruit, producing life. No doubt, God’s saying ‘This Bud’s for you,’ [laughter]. So Moses, verse 9, pay attention, “And Moses brought out all the rods from before the LORD unto all the children of Israel: and they looked, and took every man his rod.” So there must be some introspection here, imagine this. Because there are men of the tribes that had complained, there are those who had been witness, there had been 14,700 dead, no doubt there had been others that had joined the rebellion. And each man now takes back his rod, and it’s the same dried stick that was put in there the day before. It must have been pretty sobering for them to sit and think what that meant. No doubt every day when they got up on a daily basis and walked with that sceptre, that rod, that staff, it was a reminder that their’s was not the one that God had appointed. “they looked, and took every man his rod.” and again, all of those had basically been the same, God was the only one that made a difference. And Aaron’s calling is not because he’s worthy, not because he deserved it, it’s of grace, it’s election. “And the LORD said unto Moses, Bring Aaron’s rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not.” (verse 10) God said ‘Let’s set this up as a reminder.’ Now look, they got a number of reminders we’re told that the males were to wear a tassel of blue on the border of their garments, they’re to be reminded daily by that to keep God’s commandments, that God had chosen them, they’re not supposed to go off a-whoring, after the desires of their own hearts, but they’re supposed to seek God’s Word and God’s commandments. They had another set of reminders, the brass plates that had been flattened and shined around the Altar, that every time a sacrifice was brought to the Altar, they would see their reflection and they would be reminded of the rebellion of Korah, the rebellion of their own hearts, that no one had the right to approach God, that it was only through the blood of an innocent substitute that any of us could come. [But all these reminders did no good, ultimately, because none of these ancient Israelites had God’s indwelling Holy Spirit, which is the only thing that has the ability to write God’s laws upon our hearts and in our minds (Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Hebrews 8:6-13).] And evidently, in the Tabernacle itself, where the Ark of the Covenant is, is Aaron’s rod. Now did the blossoms stay on? Did the almonds stay on? We’re not told that. What kind of reminder was it, if it was somewhere where people couldn’t see it? We’re not told that. Was Aaron, did he bring it out on occasion, just to remind people? If somebody started arguing with him did he say ‘Wait here one minute,’ and go get that thing and bring it out and swing it around in front of him? We don’t know. It doesn’t tell us that. But he’s to put his rod there, to be a remembrance, God says, to put an end to their murmurings from before me. “And Moses did so: as the LORD commanded him, so did he. And the children of Israel spake unto Moses, saying, Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish. Whosoever cometh any thing near unto the tabernacle of the LORD shall die: shall we be consumed with dying?” (verses 11-13) Now evidently they’re expecting the ground to open up and swallow them all now, they at least remember something from the last chapter. They’ve got the message. Now look, they’re just like us, they’re extremists. In the last chapter, they’re demanding to burn incense and come forward and minister in the Tabernacle, and saying that Aaron and Moses have no right above them, which is an extreme position and isn’t Biblical and isn’t the LORD’s will. Now they’re extremely on the other end, ‘We can’t come anywhere near, we’re all going to get killed,’ where the LORD was supposed to be their confidence, the LORD was supposed to be their rearguard, their shield and buckler, the LORD was supposed to be their strength. The LORD, it said every time one of the individuals of Israel, it’s all in the singular, you say ‘The LORD bless thee, the LORD keep thee, the LORD make his face to shine upon you.’ That was all in the singular, every individual was to be blessed when they came. And now of course they’re on the other extreme. You and I, as we grow in grace, we go down that highway of God’s grace, kind of like a drunk driver, we go back and forth across it, we’re on one side and we’re becoming more legalistic than we need to, then we go woo, and we come back and we cross the other side, we’re way more gracious, we abuse the liberty the Lord gives, then we try to come back, and we’re on the other side. People haven’t changed, haven’t changed, we’re learning, growing in grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. So we have this picture.”

Numbers 18:1-32

“And the LORD said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father’s house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood. 2 And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou with thee, that they may be joined unto thee, and minister unto thee: but thou and thy sons with thee shall minister before the tabernacle of witness. 3 And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tabernacle: only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die. 4 And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, for all the service of the tabernacle: and a stranger shall not come nigh unto you. 5 And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar: that there be no wrath any more upon the children of Israel. 6 And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel: to you they are given as a gift for the LORD, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. 7 Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest’s office for every thing of the altar, and within the vail; and ye shall serve: I have given your priest’s office unto you as a service of gift: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death. 8 And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Behold, I also have given thee the charge of mine heave offerings of all the hallowed things of the children of Israel; unto thee have I given them by reason of the anointing, and to thy sons, by an ordinance for ever. 9 This shall be thine of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every oblation of theirs, every meat [grain] offering of theirs, and every trespass offering of theirs, which they shall render unto me, shall be most holy for thee and for thy sons. 10 In the most holy place shalt thou eat it; every male shall eat it: it shall be holy unto thee. 11 And this is thine; the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them unto thee, and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: every one that is clean in thine house shall eat of it. 12 All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the LORD, them have I given thee. 13 And whatsoever is first ripe in the land, which they shall bring unto the LORD, shall be thine; every one that is clean in thine house shall eat of it. 14 Every thing devoted in Israel shall be thine. 15 Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh, which they bring unto the LORD, whether it be of men or beasts, shall be thine: nevertheless the firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem. 16 And those that are to be redeemed from a month old shalt thou redeem, according to thine estimation, for the money of five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs. 17 But the firstling of a cow, or the firstling of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, thou shalt not redeem; they are holy: thou shalt sprinkle their blood upon the altar, and shalt burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a sweet savour unto the LORD. 18 And the flesh of them shall be thine, as the wave breast and as the right shoulder are thine. 19 All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the LORD, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the LORD unto thee and to thy seed with thee. 20 And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel. 21 And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. 22 Neither must the children of Israel henceforth come nigh the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they bear sin, and die. 23 But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance. 24 But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the LORD, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. 25 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 26 Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the LORD, even a tenth part of the tithe. 27 And this your heave offering shall be reckoned unto you, as though it were the corn of the threshingfloor, and as the fulness of the winepress. 28 Thus ye also shall offer an heave offering unto the LORD of all your tithes, which ye receive of the children of Israel; and ye shall give thereof the LORD’s heave offering to Aaron the priest. 29 Out of all your gifts ye shall offer every heave offering of the LORD, of all the best thereof, even the hallowed part thereof out of it. 30 Therefore thou shalt say unto them, When ye have heaved the best thereof from it, then it shall be counted unto the Levites as the increase of the threshingfloor, and as the increase of the winepress. 31 And ye shall eat it in every place, ye and your households: for it is your reward for your service in the tabernacle of the congregation. 32 And ye shall bear no sin by reason of it, when ye have heaved from it the best of it: neither shall ye pollute the holy things of the children of Israel, lest ye die.”

All The Priests Are Levites, But Not All Levites Are Priests

Now, chapter 18, what the LORD does, he’s going to reiterate to Aaron, to Moses, to the Levites, that look, all priests are Levites, all priests are of the tribe of Levi. But not all Levites are priests. There is a difference. Korah was a Levite, but not of Aaron’s line, not a priest. So God then is going to lay out again, just this order of priest and Levite, and the difference between them, and then charge Aaron, ‘You now maintain this, you have responsibility, don’t let rebellion start over, remember to have the right attitude, you minister among the people.’ And the LORD then doesn’t leave the Kohathite, or those of Merari or the Gershonites out there cowering and afraid, he reestablishes the order, he’s gracious, and all of this is very gracious. Now, he’s restoring.

‘Aaron, I want you to be responsible as a leader, I want you to execute the priest’s office, I want you to represent me in such a way that no wrath comes upon the people’

“And the LORD said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father’s house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood.” (verse 1) In other words, the priest had to offer for himself before he offered for anyone else, we’re told. “And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou with thee, that they may be joined unto thee, and minister unto thee: but thou and thy sons with thee shall minister before the tabernacle of witness.” (verse 2) Now he’s putting chapter 16 behind them, he said ‘I want you to come with your sons, I want you to bring your brethren of the tribe of Levi, you’re joined together. You’re going to minister at the Tabernacle and the holy things, but the tribe of Levi, they’ll minister in the courts, and they’re going to minister to you.’ God is graciously restoring the order. “And they shall keep thy charge,” you’ll instruct them, “and the charge of all the tabernacle: only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die.” (verse 3) In other words, God’s warning Aaron to be responsible, and not to allow them to step into the things they shouldn’t be involved in. “And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, for all the service of the tabernacle: and a stranger shall not come nigh unto you. And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar:” here’s the reason, God is exhorting Aaron and his sons, “that there be no wrath any more upon the children of Israel.” (verses 4-5) ‘I want you to be responsible as a leader, I want you to execute the priest’s office, I want you to represent me in such a way that no wrath come upon the people, I want you to instruct them in holiness, I want you to instruct them in the right way, I want you to instruct the Levites in the right things--the very purpose is, so that wrath does not break out upon them.’ “And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel:” and notice this, “to you they are given as a gift” strictly grace, “for the LORD, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.” (verse 6) ‘They’re given unto you, as a gift, the Levites, Aaron, they’re there to serve you, it is their calling, their position, their election.’ “Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest’s office for every thing of the altar, and within the vail; and ye shall serve: I have given your priest’s office unto you as a service of gift: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.” (verse 7) ‘Now the reason you’re a priest, it’s a gift, it’s all grace, you don’t deserve to be a priest anymore than they deserve to be Levites, I’ve given them to you as a gift to serve alongside of you, to help you, but your ministry coming within the vail and so forth, that is also a gift.’ “and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.” no one takes this to themselves, it is God’s choice, God’s election.

The Priests & Levites Are Cared For By The Offerings Of The Congregation

Verses 8 down to verse 12 start to outline the fact that the priests and the Levites are cared for by the offerings of the congregation. You have 2 to 3 million people, you probably have a million of them offering, you have 600,000 fighting men, and then there were younger and older men that would still have been offering the sacrifices for their family and so forth, and some of the mature women certainly. We’re going to hear the LORD mention the land that he’s taking them into, and when they come into the land, the priests and the Levites, they have no inheritance in the land. Each of the other tribes, because Joseph is divided into Ephraim and Manasseh, you still have 12 tribes, Levi is taken out of the mix [the count], so the land is divided amongst the 12 tribes, but Levi is not one of them. But the Levites and the priests, their inheritance, God says ‘Your inheritance is Me, I am yours.’ They have, they’re going to cultivate soil, and flocks and herds, you’re going to cultivate Truth, my Word, my people, and your cultivation, your inheritance is Me. Now there will be the Cities of the priests. When we get to Joshua we’ll see them, a certain number on each side of the Jordan River [Cities of Refuge], the Levitical cities where they would live and there would be suburbs, but they would not have for their families an inheritance in the land. So God is going to outline the fact that though they’re serving him, and they don’t have time to cultivate what other men have time to cultivate, yet God still has a provision, they’ll never suffer in any way for giving their lives willingly over to him. “And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Behold, I also have given thee the charge of mine heave offerings of all the hallowed things of the children of Israel; unto thee have I given them by reason of the anointing, and to thy sons, by an ordinance for ever. This shall be thine of the most holy things, reserved from the fire:” that which is not burned on the altar, “every oblation of theirs, every meat [grain] offering of theirs, and every trespass offering of theirs, which they shall render unto me, shall be most holy for thee and for thy sons. In the most holy place shalt thou eat it; every male shall eat it: it shall be holy unto thee.” the burnt offering was consumed on the fire, but these other offerings there was a portion that belonged to the priests and the Levites. “And this is thine; the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them unto thee, and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: every one that is clean in thine house shall eat of it.” ritually, ceremonially clean. Notice this in verse 12, “All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the LORD, them have I given thee.” (verses 8-12) We never suffer when we serve him. All of the best, he says here twice. “And whatsoever is first ripe in the land,” which they hadn’t come into yet, they had turned away, “which they shall bring unto the LORD, shall be thine; every one that is clean in thine house shall eat of it.” (verse 13) In Leviticus he had strictly told them that if they were defiled, they weren’t to eat of the sacrifices, because the sacrifices were holy, they had to go through the ritual cleansing before they could partake again. “Every thing devoted in Israel shall be thine. Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh, which they bring unto the LORD, whether it be of men or beasts, shall be thine: nevertheless the firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem.” (verses 14-15) there was a price of redemption they would pay. And the firstling of an unclean beast, you couldn’t sacrifice an unclean animal, shalt thou redeem. “And those that are to be redeemed from a month old shalt thou redeem, according to thine estimation, for the money of five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs. But the firstling of a cow, or the firstling of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, thou shalt not redeem; they are holy:” they’re consecrated to God, “thou shalt sprinkle their blood upon the altar, and shalt burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a sweet savour unto the LORD. And the flesh of them shall be thine, as the wave breast and as the right shoulder are thine. All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the LORD, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the LORD unto thee and to thy seed with thee.” (verses 16-19) The idea is, a covenant of salt, salt had the peculiar capacity of not being destroyed in the flame, in the fire. Down at the Dead Sea today, where the fire, it tells us, in Jude, that it was eternal fire that fell there. There is Jabal Musem, there’s the Mountain of Salt down there, there’s a tremendous amount of salt and potash that survived whatever took place down there [the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah], it cracked the earth’s circumference a 5^th of the way around the world, the Great Rift Valley is a fault that is a 5^th of the world’s circumference, that’s God’s comment on something. But there’s a tremendous amount of salt down there. And the idea is, a sacrifice of salt speaks of something that endures. You know, the Romans, soldiers, part of their pay was called the Salarium, there was a measure of salt given to the Roman soldier. That could be put on a wound, it certainly could be used for food, it could be used to rub meat with to preserve it, it was a preservative. But again, it has the idea of something that caused endurance, we get “salary” from Salarium, and folks who want a salary, what they’re saying basically is ‘I want whatever my hours, whatever the job description is,’ there is a consistent thing to be given. And the whole idea here is that. [Salarium is a Latin word that means "salt money." In ancient Rome, it was an allowance given to people in noble professions like teachers and doctors who were not allowed to charge fees. It was also used to pay wages to people who served in the military on an emergency basis.] ‘This is promised to you, it’s not going to be taken away, it’s to you, it’s to your children, when you look at your grandchildren you don’t have to worry how they’re going to survive,’ it’s not nepotism to be a priest, you have to be a priest’s kid, to be a priest you have to be a priest’s grandson. To be a Levite you have to be a Levite’s kid. This is just a promise that’s made, and it’s a covenant of salt, it’s enduring, it will go from generation to generation. “And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel.” (verse 20) Now interesting, Jacob when he was on his deathbed, prophecying, and spoke of the cruelty of Simeon and Levi, he said ‘Cursed be thine anger,’ they had slaughtered the men of Shechem, ‘for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob, and I will scatter them in Israel.’ And God was able to take that prophecy and turn it into a blessing. The tribe of Levi would be scattered throughout the tribes of Israel, in the cities of the priests, the Levitical cities. But God would bless them, he said ‘You have no part in the land, no inheritance among them. I am thy part, and thine inheritance among the children of Israel.’ Now I wonder for you and I, as a peculiar people, a royal priesthood. Is that sufficient for us? You know, we look around at the world, we look around at what they have, we hear the Lord telling us that we should set our affection on things above, and not on things of the earth. Is it enough for us to have him as our inheritance? Is it enough for us to know that we are where he bids us to be, that we are putting our hand to the plow that he puts in front of us without looking back? Is it enough for us to sit alone with the Lord and say ‘Lord, I envy no man, I envy no man’ ? ‘I am blessed, Lord, your presence, your encouragement, your Holy Spirit, your Word.’

God Gives All The Tithes Of Israel As Their Inheritance

“And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. Neither must the children of Israel henceforth come nigh the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they bear sin, and die. But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance. But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the LORD,” that would be of animals, increase and so forth, a 10^th of the increase, “I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the LORD, even a tenth part of the tithe.” (verses 21-26) So you’re to tithe on the tithe, is what he’s saying to the Levites now [and give your tithe of the tithe to Aaron and his sons]. “And this your heave offering shall be reckoned unto you, as though it were the corn of the threshingfloor, and as the fulness of the winepress. Thus ye also shall offer an heave offering unto the LORD of all your tithes, which ye receive of the children of Israel; and ye shall give thereof the LORD’s heave offering to Aaron the priest.” (verses 27-28) Now what it says here, is the Levites were to receive of the offerings and the tithes of the nation of Israel, then the Levites were to take a 10^th of the 10^th they lived on, which was huge, you have millions of people, and a 10^th of that was to be given to Aaron and to his sons. So, very interesting here, here were these folks, they were part of spiritual leadership. But because they were part of spiritual leadership did not absolve them from giving of what they received. Now I don’t believe in the New Testament, tithing is enforced, but I believe giving is a principle, and I think the pastors and the elders and people that serve in spiritual leadership, it’s also incumbent on them to give. [To see what the apostle Paul taught in Hebrews about tithing, see https://unityinchrist.com/hebrews/Hebrews%207%201-28.htm ] Some churches have the strange idea that they’re exempt from that. No, here the Levites who served, who had no inheritance in the land, who lived off the tithes of the people, then it was their responsibility to tithe to make sure Aaron and his sons were taken care of, they gave a tenth to the LORD, to Aaron and to his sons. “Out of all your gifts ye shall offer every heave offering of the LORD, of all the best thereof, even the hallowed part thereof out of it. Therefore thou shalt say unto them, When ye have heaved the best thereof from it, then it shall be counted unto the Levites as the increase of the threshingfloor, and as the increase of the winepress.” (verses 29-30) as if they had their own threshingfloor in their own land. “And ye shall eat it in every place, ye and your households: for it is your reward for your service in the tabernacle of the congregation. And ye shall bear no sin by reason of it, when ye have heaved from it the best of it: neither shall ye pollute the holy things of the children of Israel, lest ye die.” (verses 31-32) So this quick chapter kind of reestablished the order between Aaron and the other Levites, where the rebellion had been born. They have the, again, the reminder of the plates on the Altar at this point in time, they have Aaron’s rod, they’re to be reminded this is God’s order.”

Numbers 19:1-22

“And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 2 This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke: 3 and ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her forth without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face: 4 and Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times: 5 and one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn: 6 and the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer. 7 Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the even. 8 And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the even. 9 And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it is a purification for sin. 10 And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever. 11 He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days. 12 He shall purify himself on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he purify not himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean. 13 Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him. 14 This is the law, when a man dieth in a tent: all that come into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days. 15 And every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, is unclean. 16 And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days. 17 And for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel: 18 and a clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave: 19 and the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even. 20 But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the LORD: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean. 21 And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them, that he that sprinkleth the water of separation shall wash his clothes; and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until even. 22 And whatsoever the unclean person toucheth shall be unclean; and the soul that toucheth it shall be unclean until even.”

Introduction: The Red Heifer

“Chapter 19 brings us to a very strange place. We come now to this offering of the red heifer. And everybody today wants to talk about the red heifer and the offering of the red heifer, and where’s the ashes of the red heifer, and it’s a very interesting question. Over the years, we’ve been in Israel, they had a red heifer for a number of years in northern Israel, and I thought ‘this poor cow, she has no idea, that she’s at the center of world tension,’ she could start World War III, and she’s up there mowing, eating grass, minding her own business. And of course then some of the rabbis found several white hairs, I don’t believe they can have more than three white or discoloured hairs on their whole body, you know it has to be red. There’s one in Texas somewhere [this sermon given in 2008, the Israelis bought and had flown from Texas this past year (2023 or 2024) three red heifers, so they’ve got three new ones now, ready to sacrifice]. And there’s a controversy about the whole thing, we’re going to see. [Red Heifer YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt_uuF-jzlM and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PAZ_5ruTXk , Netanyahu, The Third Temple & Messiah Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VrG-RQlMvI Why Hamas Attacked Israel--Because Of The Red Heifer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IthFINZJ2m4 ] This offering is not Levitical in the sense that it wasn’t given at Mount Sinai. When all of the other offerings were given, they were given at Mount Sinai in the Book of Leviticus. Now our journeying has begun in the Book of Numbers. Now all of a sudden there’s a new offering that we’ve heard nothing about before, that’s laid out, and a whole chapter’s given to it, and its of this red heifer. It’s going to be in regards to purification, that’s very specific. And specifically in regards to purification of the dead. God already told Moses and the children of Israel that their whole generation was to die in the wilderness, and their children would enter. So this would be a 30-year funeral march. And when you figure there’s, you know, 2 to 3 million people, then you figure over 38 years, how many, it’s 100 a day or more dying every day for 38 years. So no doubt it was necessary then for this new offering. And it’s not, the red heifer is to be slain, and it uses a different word than sacrifice than we have anywhere in Leviticus. It’s not sacrificed. And as we’re going to find out, it’s slaughtered outside the camp, it’s a picture of Jesus in that. It is slaughtered outside the camp. It isn’t slaughtered by the priest, the priest stands by and watches while a layman of choosing slaughters this animal. And it’s just a very interesting picture. So is there significance in this today? Part of religious Israel, if you’ve been to Israel and the Temple Institute there, they are very much in favour of raising a red heifer, and what they believe is we don’t need the ashes that there were, if we can get our hands on a red heifer, we can burn that red heifer and make our own ashes, and once we have ashes, then we can purify the implements of the Temple, and the Kohan, the priests that we’re training to sacrifice, and then we can get started. Most Israelis are Zionists and think they’re out of their minds [I agree 😊]. There are other Orthodox Jews who believe the ashes are in a location, ah, Asher Kaufman believes that they’re hidden on the Mount of Olives, and that he knows where they are. Others believe that they’re down near Qumran, in an area down there where many other things had been hidden. They are in a specific, they were, in a very specific urn made of cow dung, and baked at a low temperature, that would certainly endure in the heat if it’s down there. The Talmud, Mishna, rabbinic writings say that there were only six red heifers from the days of Moses to the destruction of the Temple. Because they would take those ashes, and they would be used so sparingly, sprinkled in water, then the water would be used for purification, and what they did when they were down to hardly no ashes left at all, then they would burn another heifer, and then take those ashes and sprinkle the ashes from the original red heifer in those ashes. And they were used sparingly enough, that rabbinic writing says only six animals were slaughtered between Moses and the destruction of the Temple in 70AD. When Titus Vespasian destroyed the Temple, Jewish tradition says the ashes were not lost, they were hidden. And there are those who claim to know where they are today. So it’s an interesting problem, and it’s an interesting picture, and it’s a very interesting sacrifice that’s laid before us here. And certainly in many ways it’s a picture of Christ. Of course the problem is, it’s a female, it’s a red heifer. And there were other female sacrifices, this is the only one I believe that is exclusively, some of the other sacrifices for sin, sometimes could be a male or female, this one is exclusively to be a heifer. So we have a very interesting picture that’s brought before us here.

The Law Of The Red Heifer

“And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke: and ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her forth” notice “without the camp, and one shall slay” that’s not our word for “sacrifice,” it’s “slaughtering,” her before his face:” (verses 1-3) before Eleazar’s face, he’s not doing the slaying. They pick one at random, evidently, and it’s certainly a picture of Christ, who died without the camp, the Jews couldn’t put him to death, the Romans did that. Just some very interesting pictures as we go through. “and Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times:” so he takes some of the blood, “and one shall” not Eleazar “burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn: and the priest shall take cedar wood,” so there’s wood involved, I don’t know if it points to the cross, “and hyssop,” they gave him wine-vinegar on hyssop, “and scarlet,” that points to a number of things, “and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer.” (verses 4-6) So the wood and the hyssop and the scarlet are thrown into the fire and burned completely with the red heifer, very interesting. “Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the even.” because he had touched the blood and sprinkled it, “And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in water,” this is not the priest, “and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the even. And a man” notice, just a man “that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it is a purification for sin.” (verses 7-9) So it was specifically in a specific place, and the ashes were to be in a miniscule amount placed into the water of purification. Did that happen in Cana of Galilee? there were six waterpots there, we just went through that Sunday night. It says ‘After the manner of the purification of the Jews is…’ was that a priest’s home, or a Levite’s home? We don’t know, or just a layman? Those stone jars which held about 20 gallons apiece were used for purification. Were there already ashes of the red heifer mixed in the water that Jesus told them to fill them to the brim [in his making the water into wine at the wedding feast at Cana], of course the beautiful picture, is he turns the legal ceremonial water of ritual cleansing into the blood of the cross, into the wine of the New Testament [and it was real wine, not grape juice]. Very interesting. “And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever.” (verse 10) Isn’t it interesting, they touch the ashes and they’re unclean, but it’s the sprinkling of the ashes in the water and using of that, that then cleanses and purifies, very interesting. Every generation is to realize the problem of death, in the way that the death makes one unclean, that there’s something wrong with it, with death. Now again, if Adam hadn’t sinned, he’d still be alive. So I don’t believe when God made Adam he gave him the capacity to deal with death, because he never should have faced it. I watch people constantly, because of what I do, funerals and so forth, deal with death, and there’s no file for it. It’s just a struggle that goes on for months, we call it mourning and grieving, and there’s never a place to put it, because it doesn’t exist. Because when the Lord gets us to his Kingdom, it says the very first thing there in Revelation 21, there’s no more death, no more death, it doesn’t exist anymore. No more death, nor more sorrow, no more weeping. Interesting, Moses wrote Psalm 90. You know, all of the Psalms you have, you look at Psalm 90 and Moses said ‘LORD, teach us to number our days,’ because he watched probably a million people die in those 38 years, he watched it over and over and over, he was keenly aware that life is like a vapour, life is so transient, so fragile. “Teach us LORD to number our days.” So this is to be perpetual, throughout their generations, to remind them that death is contamination, and there needs to be purification from it. An interesting picture, certainly we see all of the light of it in Jesus Christ. “He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.” now interesting, take note of that, “He shall purify himself on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he purify not himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean. Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him.” (verses 11-13) Now the question is, put outside, or it would seem executed [my guess, just put outside. Think about David and his whole army in a campaign, after a battle, was it possible for them out on the battlefield, just after the battle was over, to go through all these purification rituals? Just thinking of practicality here.] “This is the law, when a man dieth in a tent:” so there’s no intent here, “all that come into the tent,” with no intent, “and all that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days.” (verse 14) ‘You know, I didn’t know it, I walked in and he was laying in there, staring at the ceiling, he was gone, it wasn’t my fault.’ Well still, God doesn’t want any part of that, because of his Holiness, his presence, life everlasting, the Eternal God is in the center of the camp. “And every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, is unclean. And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.” (verses 15-16) That’s why Jesus accused the Pharisees, he said ‘You’re like whitewashed tombs, outwardly you appear clean, but inwardly you are full of dead men’s bones,’ because those who came to celebrate the Feasts at Jerusalem, they would do them a favour and they would whitewash the tombs so they wouldn’t step on them. Because if you even came and touched a grave, you were unclean for seven days and you would then miss the Feasts. So, he says if you even come and touched a grave you shall be unclean seven days. “And for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel: and a clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave:” (verses 17-18) Now that’s why they believed, because the tent had to be sprinkled, they believed to begin sacrifices again, that the priests that they feel are priests today [now, today, 21^st century], that they would have to be sprinkled, all of the implements would have to be sprinkled, everything would have to be sprinkled in regards to being purified before their worship could begin again in regards to sacrifice and so forth. “and the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even. But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the LORD: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean.” (verses 19-20) So this interesting picture. Anyone who is around death needs these ashes as a memorial, a memory of the fact that death sets them aside, and that they need the ashes of the sacrifice and living water, as it were, to be reinstated. And of course there’s wonderful pictures here. In fact I put a note here, 1 to 2 million people in 38 years, that’s 75 to 100 deaths per day for 38 years, going through their wilderness wanderings, 38 years of that. “And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them, that he that sprinkleth the water of separation shall wash his clothes; and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until even. And whatsoever the unclean person toucheth shall be unclean; and the soul that toucheth it shall be unclean until even.” (verses 21-22) Isn’t it interesting, if he touches the water of separation, but if it’s sprinkled it’s a different situation. So we have this remarkable, remarkable picture. And I think an interesting picture of Jesus Christ here in this slaughtering, not sacrificing, the slaughtering of the red heifer outside the camp. It will be very interesting to see what happens, to see what happens if someone in Israel turns up some pot and says ‘We’ve got the ashes of the red heifer,’ to see what the Islamic world will do, and what they’ll do with that in regards to the Koran. I’m sure that it won’t be believed that they’re the real ashes of the red heifer, I mean, no doubt. But just it will be interesting to see what happens as we certainly move forward in the things that are going on around us. [Comment: One of the reasons HAMAS said they invaded Israel on the 7^th of October 2023, was because some religious Israelis had purchased three red heifers from a farm in Texas and had them shipped to Israel and were getting ready to slaughter one or all of them. see: Why Hamas Attacked Israel--Because Of The Red Heifer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IthFINZJ2m4 ]

In closing

So, Korah, Aaron’s rod that budded, God setting aside his own. God’s grace, reinstating the order and fellowship between the Levites and the priests that had been broken down. And then this strange sacrifice being brought in front of us, of the red heifer. And not Levitical in the sense, it wasn’t given when all the other sacrifices were given in Leviticus, because it’s not a sacrifice, it’s not sacrificed at the Altar, it’s slain outside the camp. Just this interesting, interesting picture, that there is a death that takes place outside the camp that purifies the rest of us from death. I’m so appreciative of that. And all of that, we’re told in the New Testament, are types and shadows, but Christ himself is the body that casts those shadows into the Old Testament, they’re all the shadow of his own person, seen before he came, and perceived by no doubt true worshippers. So read ahead, we come to the next chapter where we come to a new generation, where 38 years have gone by, we know that for sure in the next chapter. It’s very interesting to see the sparse record that God gives us of 38 years. But there’s a whole new generation, and they’re all little apples that didn’t fall far from the tree [they don’t 😊]. And when Moses runs into a situation where there’s no water to drink, and right away they say ‘It was better in Egypt,’ they were born in the wilderness, they were never in Egypt, they just learned to complain from professional complainers. And of course Moses will get angry and grab the rod and beat the rock, we’re not told if almonds or flowers were flying everywhere. And because of his actions God will tell him he will not enter into the Promise Land, Moses the Law could never bring God’s people into his Promises, it would have to be Yeshua, the first book in the Bible named after a person, Yeshua, Jesus [And Messianic Jewish believers call Jesus Yeshua, and rightly so.], it would have to be Joshua who would bring God’s people into their Promises, never Moses and the Law. Moses gets in, on the mount of Transfiguration, he sneaks in, we see him there, with Elijah, he gets in. But, interesting picture. So read ahead, we got some remarkable things ahead of us as we come to Balaam and Balak and just some of the most remarkable things here in the Book of Numbers still ahead of us. So I encourage you to be reading ahead, be familiar with the territory that we are headed into. Let’s have the musician come, and we have time for two songs this evening, let’s sing an extra song. I encourage you, after we worship, don’t just run out, it might be a great time to pray with someone, might be a great time to say to the person next to you, ‘you know, I’ve been going through this, would you pray with me?’ it might be a great time to take a few minutes to fellowship genuinely and minister to one another. Let’s stand, let’s pray…[transcript of a connective expository sermon on Numbers 17:1-13, Numbers 18:1-32 and Numbers 19:1-22, given by Pastor Joe Focht, Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia, 13500 Philmont Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19116]